Cut a strip of fabric

If you purchased this fabric, you might be saying to yourself that there is only one way to use it. That way would be to fussy cut a vase.
But.......I suggest that you cut off a strip, in whatever your favorite width is for projects and see the fabric in a new light.
It would have been nice if I had laid the strip straight on the table but anyway, here is another size cut in a little different place.
I will post again later today about contrast in quiltmaking. I have taken the pictures but need to work on them for awhile.

6 Month Blogiversary!!!

I didn't know 6 months ago how fulfilling it would be to "meet" so many other people out there in blogland. My friend Diane told me she had a blog and in an email discussion she convinced me it wasn't hard to do so I tried it. It has been life changing. I can't wait to blog each day.

When I started out I thought I might have about 20 people who would like to keep in touch with me by reading the blog. I never imagined I would have more than 100 readers a day (thanks sitemeter for the stats). Like others have said before this, I feel as if I have known some of you for years.

Now, for what I have posted in 6 months:
135 quilts and wallhangings from 8" x 10" to 96" x 130", 27 unfinished quilt tops and this does not include ones that were only partially pieced when I showed them, 9 postcards, 4 totebags, 8 tablerunners, and lots of other miscellaneous.

I have shown you my past so you know where I have been, the present so you know I am still alive and kicking each day, and future projects that I just have pieces and parts of so far. I like the fact that I can document my fiber art/quilting career so even I can go back and check it out.

I want to thank each and every one of you that have left comments. They make my day! I know there are a lot of readers that never leave comments but I talk to some of you in person and I know you are reading it. Some of you I will never hear from you but I thank you just the same for reading my blog.

And now, to the studio..........

Award

I was just checking my sitemeter to see where people who read my blog may have been referred from and found that ZQUILTS has given me this award. I have to agree with her that blogging has been an unexpected bonus in my life. I have made so many friends out there and have found people like me who are driven to create. Marie at ZQUILTS writes one of my favorite blogs, always upbeat, colorful, and interesting.

I find it really hard to just name 10 blogs that make my day so I am just going to award it to one, the very first blog I ever read, Melody at Fibermania. Mel, you don't have to pass it on if you don't want to. I just want you to know that your blog is the first one I read every day.

The value of variety of value (that's a lot of v's)

There wouldn't be anyway to convince some people that a stash is necessary. They will only buy for a project and are at the mercy of the limited selection a quilt shop has on any given day. Of course if their projects only have 3-5 fabrics that isn't a problem. Try shopping for 100 florals for a colorwash on one day at one quilt shop. When I would give the colorwash one piece at a time class I would always get the resistance from a couple people with, I don't like light fabric, or I don't like dark fabric, just give me the medium values. That is what you see above, and I have to admit it is pretty, but from a distance.......it is mush. Below I have added the light values which gives it a little more interest.
Then I add the dark mediums. I'm liking it better.
And finally with all of the darks in there the piece glows. I put this example up on the wall today for in progress shots, in 15 minutes or less. It definitely needs tweaking if I was going to sew it. All of these squares are from the 116 pc. kit on my blog-shop.
The point I am trying to make is that with a full range of value, the pattern of the quilt will show up. With fabrics in a "too close" value range, you will see none or very little pattern from a distance. To be sure you have values that separate and that will enhance each other, you need to step 8 feet away from the selection of bolts at the store, as if you were viewing the quilt from the doorway of the bedroom. Mix the bolts up in different arrangements to be sure you like each bolt against each other bolt.

How much should I buy? part 3: binding

I just found this piece of fabric in my collection. I thought it was an old Hoffman but it was a P&B Naturescape by Jennifer Sampou. Isn't it luscious?

I usually have on hand enough fabrics to choose from for a binding but occasionally I have to go out and buy something special for it.

For a baby quilt 1/2 yard is a safe bet. You will have a little left over for your stash.

Most people cut their binding 2.5" wide but it should really be cut a specific width (math again) for any width you would like it to finish at (maybe a 1/2" binding on a really big quilt which needs 3.25" strips, not 2.5). Anyway, for the people who always cut it 2.5", most quilts take 10 or less strips for binding (not counting king size) so 3/4 of a yard of fabric would work, but I always buy 1 yard in case of a mis-cut and to assure me a small piece for the scrap collection.

Doing the math

Meggie mentioned in one of her comments about not liking the math part of a project. That is my favorite part. Remember I showed this book to you a couple weeks ago and said I wanted to make the cover quilt? Well I got it out yesterday and ironed the creases out of all of the fabric and then looked at the cutting directions to see how many strips I needed to cut. If I had followed their directions, I would have needed to cut 2 strips to get 1 block with most of the second strip not needed. I re figured the measurements so I could get one block out of each strip that is cut. My blocks will end up 12.5" square instead of 15" square as in the book. I have enough strips cut for 19 blocks right now. I need to find one more color I like or cut an extra strip of one that is there.
I'm auditioning for the center squares right now.
I finally got a picture with the red spot on this guy's head even though he wouldn't pose nicely for me.
Here is one of my favorite quotes. I have been following its advice for quite a few years now. It isn't always easy to be confident enough to do what you know in your heart is the right thing to do.

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare

Oh what a beautiful morning

Happy New Year everyone! We had snowfall start yesterday afternoon and continue into the evening. It is that piling up type snow that sticks to the branches. This scene is looking through to my backyard neighbors' raspberry bushes and then onto pine trees a block away. It is so clean and white and beautiful. And.....it is cold, 21 degrees this morning with a promise for colder yet tomorrow. Here are the sedum flowers looking out my studio window.
And a front flower bed with the snow piled up each flower and branch. You can see they have plowed the street already.
And now onto some fabric tips. I remember when I took the Mary Ellen Hopkins workshop she talked about the fact that we all buy the pretty prints, the colorful prints but rarely do we buy the light colors. She was commenting that even the store owners were guilty of this so most people didn't have a full range of values in their stash. Even though I did have lights in my stash I was on the lookout for interesting light fabrics, ones with movement and excitement. Now I have 2 huge blanket boxes full and when I go through them to see if I could sell some, I am really reluctant to part with any of them.
Do you have lights in your stash?